


Mother Cherished

by StarryGatorr



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Angst, Bathing/Washing, Forced Bonding, Gen, Insanity, Kidnapping, Multi, Nudity, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sick Character, Starvation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:55:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26863234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarryGatorr/pseuds/StarryGatorr
Summary: "It's a good thing none of us are the Yellow Ninja," Jay laughs, but there's no humor in his voice. "I don't think I'm ever going to look at that color the same."
Relationships: there is a little itty bit of polyninja
Comments: 16
Kudos: 24





	1. sickening

**Author's Note:**

> WOOP WOOP all aboard the angst train

The worst part of being sick, in Jay’s opinion, is the overwhelming, unshakable loneliness that comes with it. It’s like being trapped inside of his body, a trembling feverish shell of what it used to be. His boundless energy is gone; drained from him down to the last drop. He can’t move, he can’t speak, all he can do is shiver under the covers and think. He thinks so much to the point that he’s sick of it. He thinks about worst case scenarios, about self-deprecating thoughts, about how he hates being sick. But all of those thoughts are only amplified because they’re left to bounce around in his head. He can’t voice them without tiring himself out after a few words, and even if he could, he would probably sound like a whiny baby. There’s nothing to do to take his mind off of it either. 

He is completely and utterly alone.

At least, that’s what he thinks, but he’s disproven by the sound of footsteps against the floor. It makes an odd click-click sound that has Jay racking his brain to remember where he’s heard it before. The noise is too heavy to be Zane walking barefoot, because even though he’s made of titanium, the nindroid is still light on his feet. On the flipside, it’s also too narrow to be the clunk-clunk of Sensei Wu’s bamboo staff, which carries an echo to it due to being hollow. Just as he’s about to continue guessing, the room becomes brighter, which translates to the back of his eyelids turning from black to orange. This serves as a friendly reminder to Jay that he has eyes that can be used to solve this mystery, so he takes the initiative and opens them.

White, grid-structured ceiling. White, plainly decorated walls. White, white light, white bed sheets. So much white all in one place, it hurts his eyes. He closes them again and groans.

“Oh? Are you awake?”

He startles at the voice. In his quest to discover who was walking around, Jay failed to make the connection that it means someone else had entered the room. It’s not anybody he recognizes though- the voice is female, not old enough to be Misako and not young enough (or pretty enough) to be Nya. Yet another mystery for the sensational Detective Jay to unravel. The silly little idea of him being an inspector on the case causes him to giggle, but it comes out as more of a wheeze.

“I’ll take that as a yes. That’s good.”

Once more, he jolts. Dang it, he got distracted again. He should really figure out who in the world is talking to him right now.

Bracing himself, Jay opens his eyes once more. He squints at first to let his vision adjust, then gradually widens them to a comfortable degree. Finally, he is given a name to tack onto the white box he presumed was simply floating in the void. It’s not a box, nor a void, nor pure white. He’s in a hospital.

A burst of color to his right shifts in place. Jay’s gaze is drawn to it. A mountainous woman in a white (ugh) nurse’s outfit is standing next to his bed. Her hair is curly and brown with blonde streaks. In her hands she has a clipboard that his muddled mind helpfully suggests probably contains medical information on it. She meets Jay’s eyes with her own, which are striking and yellow.

The nurse smiles, her expression all sunshine and sterilizing chemicals. “Good morning, sleepyhead. How do you feel?”

Her question draws his attention back to his body, which has begun to shudder and sweat now that he’s awake. Another groan is drawn out of him.

“I bet,” The woman chuckles. “Don’t worry though, I won’t bother you for long.”

She then proceeds to hold up a peace sign. “Can you tell me how many fingers I’m holding up?”

“Both,” He mutters blearily.

“Hah… Well, I suppose that’s close enough. Here.”

Jay opens his eyes, confused to find he had shut them again. Suddenly, the clipboard the nurse had been holding is now a glass of water. At the sight of it he realizes that his mouth is as dry as his desert childhood home. The nurse holds a hand to his back to help keep him upright, the other bringing the glass to Jay’s lips. He tries to take hearty gulps to quench his thirst, but she stops him by tilting it slowly.

“Ah, ah, ah,” She tsks, tone lighthearted like she’s scolding a child, “We don’t want you choking. Little sips for now, okay?”

He wants to protest, but he doesn’t have the energy to do so. Instead he carefully paces himself as he drinks, eventually emptying the whole glass. The woman beams at this and then puts the glass aside. Jay flops back down onto the bed. Just sitting up to hydrate was enough to leave him exhausted. He’s about to curl up and head back to sleep when, without warning, the nurse’s voice rings out again.

“I’m certain with the state you’re in you must be confused, so let me explain a little. Your family brought you here after you failed to get better on your own.”

That makes sense. The others did care for him a lot, so they must’ve figured that getting him to see a professional was the best course of action.

“... But…” She continues, “Hospitals are such dreary places, it’s hard to feel like you’re getting any better in them. Don’t you agree?”

Jay is left momentarily baffled. His groggy brain can’t parse together what she’s trying to imply, so instead he just nods dumbly. Apparently this is the correct response since she appears delighted.

“Don’t worry, I know just the place to take you. It’ll be a healthy, cozy home where you can rest up properly.”

Before he can ask what she’s talking about, the woman brushes his hair off of his forehead and leaves with her clipboard. He blinks, almost concerned by the interaction, but again he’s overcome by tiredness and decides to forget it. Rather than worry, he closes his eyes and lets himself slip back into unconsciousness.

\---

When Jay opens his eyes again, he’s met with black instead of white. The mental whiplash of going from one end of the color spectrum to the next has him reeling, but he isn’t complaining. Black darkness is certainly better than white brightness.

Although, in the white hospital room, at least he was stationary in a comfy bed. There’s no mattress or pillow underneath him, only a strange fuzzy flooring. The black something room of whatever bumps and bounces, jostling him about. He tries to uncurl his body and stretch his legs but is soon met with a wall. It’s cramped, much more cramped than the hospital room.

Oh, he’s figured it out now. He’s in the trunk of somebody’s car.

His chest tightens, along with his throat. He coughs a few times and sniffles. This isn’t good. He’s too weak to keep his body up long enough to drink some water, let alone escape a kidnapping situation. The only positives he finds are that he has a blanket over him and no handcuffs on.

The temptation to fall back asleep is strong, but for now Jay tries to find some way out. He bangs atop the trunk ceiling to no avail. Next, he tries to kick the headlights out from the inside, like he had seen in an anti-kidnapping poster before. He fails. His legs don’t have nearly enough strength to get the job done.

In yet another moment of total genius, Jay remembers he has elemental powers. He attempts to summon lightning in his hand, but all he manages are a few measly sparks. Taking a deep breath, he tries again. And again. Finally, after one big push, he manages to create electricity. It goes haywire and jumps around in the confined space before seemingly passing through the walls.

Jay is about to mark the attempt as a failure when suddenly the car swerves. He thrashes about, sliding around the small space and smacking against one of the walls. His head swims and his sinuses hurt tenfold. He whimpers and holds his head.

The car begins to slow and then comes to a stop. Jay freezes as he listens for what’s going on, but he can’t hear much past the thud of his blood rushing in his ears. Everything hurts and it’s only made worse by the situation.

Then, the trunk opens. Light floods in and he hisses. He has to hold a hand above his eyes to see what’s out there. A silhouette towers over him.

“You silly little mister. I know you’re all shaken up, but don’t worry. Trixie’s going to take care of you. Just hang in there for a bit more, alright?”

He squints at the familiar voice of the nurse- Trixie?- and tries to push himself up. She gently puts a hand against his chest and shoves him back down, as well as drop a chunk of vengestone next to him.

Terror grips his heart as the trunk shuts. Once again, the light abandons him for darkness.


	2. waking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it took me less than a month to write chapter 2 of a fic?????? unrealistic, blocked

Memories come flooding back before Jay’s even opened his eyes. The past day (days?) replay in his mind. Falling ill, his family taking care of him, waking up in the hospital, and being trapped in the trunk of somebody’s car. Somebody. Somebody, like the person he hears humming not too far away.

He blinks awake, taking stock of the room he’s in. The ceiling above him is made of a dark wood. The walls are tan- or is it beige?- and there’s rustic wood furniture lining them. His captor, now dressed in a blindingly yellow dress and a yellow apron with little daisies on it, is doing something off to the side.

Jay then realizes there’s a distinct weight around his wrists and ankles. He shifts, and just as he feared, he feels chains rattle. He’s bound in vengestone shackles, his feet tied to the footboard and his hands cuffed in front of him.

Trixie perks up and turns around. Crap. She heard him.

“Good morning. How did you sleep?”

Jay opens his mouth to answer, only to be met with a tight and fuzzy wall against his lips. How had he not noticed he’s gagged with a cloth? He must still be out of it. However, all of that sleep has left him more energized and clear headed, so he has enough awareness to glare at her.

It’s met with a beaming smile. “That’s wonderful! See? I knew you’d start feeling better once you had the proper environment.”

The sweetness in her voice makes him sick to his stomach, to the point that he wonders if it’s just his illness. He turns his head away from her in a bid to make the feeling go away. It does, but another off-putting sensation soon replaces it. Fingernails dig into his cheeks as an invasive hand jerks his head back towards her.

“Now now, don’t you start getting fresh with me, young man. We have a big week ahead of us and you really don’t want to sour the whole thing right off the bat.”

Her painted claws leave his face, only for one to uncurl and boop his nose. He blinks, then finds himself angry at the woman. The cloth of the gag gets caught in his mouth as he grinds his teeth. It sucks what little moisture is left in his mouth, which surprises him; he’s thirsty and hungry after being asleep for so long and so often.

A small part of him silently hopes that Trixie will fill these needs for him. Another part of him is reluctant to accept anything this witch might have touched. Neither side gets very far since his stomach soon betrays him, growling loudly.

Apparently Trixie finds this funny since she giggles. Jay feels his face grow red.

“I know you’re hungry, just hold on for a bit. I’ll whip you up a nice breakfast in bed, okay?”

Jay isn’t given the chance to respond- not that he could with this gag on- as the woman practically skips out of the room. He stares for a few moments at the door she disappeared through before deciding it's go time. Go… where, though? And how? And when is Trixie going to come back? He doesn’t know anything and his body is weak.

He can’t let that stop him here though! His friends are probably searching for him. Hopefully. If they can’t find him then he has to escape, and if he can’t escape, he has to endure. How hard can that be?

So, with newfound vigor, Jay begins gnawing at the bandana around his mouth and shoving it with his shoulder. He manages to move it aside and free himself of the gag. Success! He hums a small victory jingle to himself.

The next hurdle to overcome were these vengestone chains. Unfortunately, he can’t chew his way out of this problem, not without breaking a few teeth. He looks around the room for a second time to see what he has at his disposal.

There’s nothing. The room is impeccably clean, perfectly safe, and wholly inescapable. Sharp corners on furniture have some soft material glued or taped on. Most of the drawers or closets have keyholes so they can be locked, and if not, they’re kept shut with zip-ties. He looks to the nightstand at his side and the lamp atop it, only to notice the screws that keep it bolted down. Anything that could be used to escape or hurt himself has been rendered useless. Either Trixie planned ahead very thoroughly or she’s done this before.

The idea that Jay isn’t her first victim makes him shudder. Had she always been planning this, or was kidnapping him a spur of the moment decision? How could someone as crazy as her fall under the police’s radar? What’s that chattering sound ruining his inner monologue?

Oh, it’s his teeth, because he’s still sickly and the chains are freezing. He pulls the blankets back up and buries himself in them, having completely forgotten he needs to find a way out.

It wouldn’t have done him much good anyways since Trixie returns only moments later. She nudges the door open with her hip, carefully balancing a tray with toast, fruit, and hot tea on it. Her feet tap the floor and she hums good naturedly as she sets the tray down on the nightstand. Her giddy expression falls when she looks at Jay.

“Oh, sweetie! What did you do? You’re not supposed to take this off on your own,” She frets, reaching over and undoing the fuzzy muzzle Jay had knocked askew. The rag is dropped to the side as she moves the tray onto the bed.

“I really shouldn’t be giving you food when you did something so bad on your first day, but I’m also awfully proud of you for not screaming when you had the chance, so I’ll make an exception.”

Jay cringes. The worst part is that she sounds serious. She’s serious about taking food away if he steps out of line. She’s serious about this deluded, motherly pride she feels. It makes him want to shrink away into himself and become a speck of dust.

However, despite his disgust, the heavenly smell of freshly made breakfast distracts him. He eyes the food warily, then glances at Trixie.

“Which one would you like to start with?” She asks.

“... The toast,” He mumbles in response. She nods and lifts the plate with the toast on it, only to pick up a slice and hold it to his face. Bewildered, he purses his lips and pulls away.

“Don’t be shy. You’re hungry, aren’t you?”

Famished, yes, but that doesn’t change the fact that he finds being fed like a child is weird. Just because his hands are chained up doesn’t mean he can’t use them.

Nonetheless, he takes a bite from the food put before him. Trixie gives him a smile of approval, then helps him through the rest of his meal. He doesn’t finish the whole thing before his sickness gets the better of him and he loses all energy. However, that doesn’t seem to bother her.

“Good job! I’ll come back later to give you dinner- you woke up pretty late. Just relax and rest up for now.”

Piling the remains of breakfast onto the tray and picking it up, she leaves the room. The door clicks behind her, much like a grave realization clicks in the back of Jay’s mind.

It hasn’t even been a day and she already has him eating out of the palm of her hand.


	3. bathing

Two days was all it took for Jay to be back to his healthy, normal self. At least, as normal as he can get while chained up in a stranger’s home and babied like a toddler. He never imagined he’d ever be kidnapped, let alone enough to have a “Weirdest Kidnapping Experience List”, yet here he is at the top of it.

He rolls his shoulders, stiff after spending so long laying down in bed. Judging by the light filtering through the window it’s about midday. Trixie would probably be coming in with lunch any minute. Not that he’s looking forward to it. The mere thought of those crazed yellow eyes boring into him makes him want to shudder.

The scraping of a key inside a keyhole makes him freeze. The door unlocks and in steps his captor. 

“Good afternoon, love bug. How are you feeling?” Trixie asks, unperturbed by the gag preventing Jay from speaking. She keeps speaking anyway, not looking for an answer. “You’re much less pale. That’s good to see! I’m going to take your temperature now, so hold still.”

She unlocks a drawer on the nightstand and takes out a thermometer. It’s the kind that has to be inserted into the ear. He cringes at the sensation, but finds himself grateful she didn’t shove it too far in.

“98.8 degrees. That’s a relief.”

Jay watches her with a growing sense of unease. There is no lunch tray to be found. His eyes flick around the room before landing back on her, and he swears he almost jumps when he finds her staring intently at him.

“Now, because it’s been a good while since you’ve gotten out of bed, and because you’re feeling better, I think today a bath is in order.”

For a moment, Jay isn’t sure what to make of her words. Hygiene is probably the last thing that’s been on his mind since falling into her clutches. Granted, he tends to forget about his hygiene a lot, kidnapping situations notwithstanding.

“Of course, I don’t want you running off, though. That’s why you’re going to have to be a good boy and let me wash you.”

He may not be a nindroid, but it still feels like his brain blue screens. The information presented refuses to process. Until that is, it does, and all at once his thoughts scramble together in a panickined flurry. He squirms and writhes and kicks his legs out

Trixie simply folds her arms and shakes her head as if she’s witnessing a child throw a temper tantrum. “Now, now. There’s no need for all of that. It’s really not as bad as you're making it out to be.”

Jay wants to scream back at her about just how creepy she’s being, but it comes out muffled behind the cloth. This seems to have been a step over the line for Trixie. She grabs the ninja by his shirt and tugs him off of the bed, sending him careening onto the floor. He hisses at the contact and tries to roll onto his feet, but they’re still chained up to the footboard. 

She squats down to Jay’s level. “Listen here, we’ve made a lot of progress on your recovery so far, and I’d hate to see it all go down the drain because you wanted to be punished so badly. You need a bath. Are you going to cooperate or am I going to have to leave you here?”

Briefly, he contemplates the pros of giving up and accepting his new life on the floor, but ultimately decides against it. He needs to regain his health completely if he’s going to escape. Besides, he isn’t keen on finding out if being left here is his only punishment.

Jay nods and she lights up. 

“Thank you, dear. Just remember that this is for your own good.”

The woman produces a key from her apron pocket and unlocks the shackles around Jay’s ankles. He pushes himself off of the ground, wobbling a little from standing for the first time in a while. Trixie is right there to steady him. He bristles at the contact. 

She leads him out of the room and into the hallway with their elbows linked. Jay focuses and looks for any sort of escape route in the limited time he has outside that forsaken room. The beige walls extend past the room, down the hall, far down. It’s a long hallway. He doesn’t see any windows. There’s a red and off-white rug beneath them. It’s also long. All there is to take note of is the two doors to the left and three doors to the right, as well as the door at the other end.

Trixie yanks him inside of the firstmost right door. Sure enough, it’s a bathroom, much to his dismay. The overhead light is brighter in here and it makes his eyes hurt. It reflects harshly off the white tiles, reminding him faintly of the hospital he woke up in only days prior. It dawns on him that he’s still wearing the hospital gown from it. Something smells, but he doesn’t know what it is and where it’s coming from.

“This is going to take a bit. Just keep still.”

As it turns out, there’s a great many buttons to undo, not just down the back but across the short sleeves as well. Buttons that eliminate the need to unlock his vengestone cuffs. He curses his already abysmal luck.

The gown is folded up and placed on top of the toilet lid. A note echoes through the bathroom. Jay perks up when another one joins it.

Trixie hums a faint tune as she turns both knobs above the bathtub faucet. She puts in the plug at the bottom before feeling the water. It doesn’t take long for the tub to fill up.

Jay’s boxers are folded and placed with the gown, leaving him bare and shivering and freaked out to the highest degree. He doesn’t wait for Trixie to tell him to get in, delving into the water in an attempt to hide at least some part of him. The water is the perfect temperature, yet he still trembles in it.

A few seconds pass with Jay left staring into the water. His own wavering reflection refuses to make eye contact. He takes a deep breath before looking up again, only to be left bewildered. Trixie has undone her apron and left it on the floor, her hands now at the bottom of her dress and lifting it above her head.

“What are you?-” He blurts, but the words crumble at the sight of what’s underneath the dress.

A swimsuit. It’s black and slick, with neon yellow stripes at the sides. Jay swears his soul had nearly left his body at the pure terror he felt.

Trixie, apparently, finds his terror hilarious. She breaks down into laughter. Her giggles fill the air along with the steam from the hot bath. She has to wipe the corners of her eyes before kicking off her slippers and joining Jay in the bath.

As if being near this witch wasn’t bad enough for his anxiety, having her positioned behind him where he can’t see- all while he’s entirely nude, mind you- was driving his heart rate through the roof. Her hands flit in and out of his range of vision as she reaches for soap and shampoo bottles and the like. All of a sudden there’s a rush of water down his back that makes him recoil.

“Relax, honey. I’m just dousing you.”

More water is poured on his shoulders, his chest, and his head. She slides a bar of soap up and down the parts of his body she can reach, rinsing it when satisfied. There’s no conversation to be had. Her humming makes a return, though. It reaches its loudest when she shampoos his hair. He swears he can hear faint words underneath her breath, but he can’t make them out past the fingers scratching his scalp and water rushing past his ears. 

Her hands remain in his hair even once she’s finished. She runs them through it again and again. The entire time Jay is left feeling further and further from himself. He hasn’t felt this disconnected from reality in a while. It happens often when he’s gaming or sparring or listening to a particularly good song. Never for this long, though, and never with this heavy disgust to accompany it. Briefly, he thinks about his friend. He’d do just about anything to know where they are or what they’re doing right now. They have to be looking for him. He refuses to entertain the idea they aren’t, because there’s no way he can handle the thought of going through this bathtime routine even once more.

“Your curly hair is so cute,” Trixie coos.

Oh, yes, there is no way he’s repeating this experience.

The mirror is entirely fogged by the time he’s been properly washed. Trixie pulls the plug and steps out of the tub, squeezing the wet parts of her hair. Jay remains seated where he is, not wanting to expose himself. He brings his knees up as the warm water drains away. Without warning the lights go out. He shrieks and flails his arms, the light suddenly returning. It takes him a second to realize a towel had been thrown atop his head.

His face turns red as he glares at the woman. She has her back turned as she ties on her apron, but an audible snort tells him that was clearly intentional. Jay huffs and wipes himself down with the towel, also using it to dry his hair. The handcuffs prevent him from reaching most of his back. He couldn’t care less though. He just wants this to be over with already.

Trixie let’s him pull on his boxers before buttoning the hospital gown for him. Her hand wraps around his own and he nearly tears it away. However, he collects himself in time and allows her to lead him out of the humid bathroom.

The air in the hallway is freezing compared to it. He suppresses a shiver as he does his best to ignore how gross the carpet feels on his wet feet. 

His eyes wander from the floor, along the wall, and over his shoulder. He glimpses at the door at the other end of the hallway. Not for long, though, because soon Trixie’s fingers graze along his chin and drag his gaze away.

“Don’t even think about it.”

After chaining him back up to the footboard and tucking him into bed, Trixie presses a kiss against his forehead. Her body blocks out any view of the hallway as she closes the door and locks it.

Jay lets his head fall back on a pillow. He wonders if he’ll be getting that lunch anytime soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow, i actually continued this. thanks to everyone who commented and prompted me to keep writing :]


End file.
